Industrial relations refers to the relationship between management and labour, and the processes for negotiating employment conditions. This includes the study of the workers and their unions, the employers and their associations, and the institutions established to control relations between the two groups.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) produces a range of statistics of direct relevance to policy makers, practitioners and researchers in the field of industrial relations. This directory is designed to give a brief overview of the types of data that are available relating to industrial relations issues and an understanding of the wide range of statistics available, and how they can be of particular use to you.

The information contained in this directory is only a guide. To fully appreciate the value of the data available from the ABS, contact officers are listed for each particular topic or publication. A wide range of data beyond that included in catalogued publications is available on request. Assorted information papers and feature articles may also be available for selected topics.

W. McLennanAustralian Statistician Australian Bureau of Statistics August 1996

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO USE THIS DIRECTORY

An entry can be located by name of statistical collection, name of a particular publication, catalogue number of a particular publication or by subject.

Directory entries

These are arranged within the broad topic headings of employment and earnings, awards, trade unions, training , industrial disputes and other labour data.

Publication title index

Lists the titles of all publications mentioned in the directory entries, in alphabetical order of publication name (see page 51 in this directory).

ABS catalogue number index

Lists the titles of all publications mentioned in the directory in ascending numerical order by catalogue number (see page 50 in this directory).

CONTENT OF EACH ENTRY

Contact

Specific enquiries about a given data collection may be made via the telephone number of the area indicated for that collection. General enquiries and bookshop sales may be directed to the information services area within your State or Territory. These are listed on the last page of the publication. The postal address is also listed.

Description

Offers a brief description of the contents of the collection.

Scope

Outlines the population which is targeted in the collection process.

Dissemination

Publication(s)

The titles of any publication(s) or standard data service, and ABS catalogue number produced from data in the collection, that contain data related to industrial relations.

Special data service

Details the media in which the statistics from the collection are available other than the publication(s) (e.g. microfiche, magnetic tape, computer printout, floppy disk).

Release schedule

How quickly the statistics from the collection become available and/or are published after the data are collected.

Data items

Lists, by item, the relevant data collected.

Geographic coverage

Provides details of geographic area for which data are reliably available (e.g. Australia, States, Territories, capital cities, statistical divisions).

Frequency of collection

Provides the periods for which the data are available, e.g. quarterly, monthly, annually or irregularly.

Method of collection

This category is intended to give relevant information about the collection methodology, e.g. method of data collection, population covered, sample size.